Positive Stories: Yong Vin Kit

Joining Positive X as an intern was a surprise for me. I never imagined at any time in my life that I would get to work in a startup. But here I was, learning everything from scratch, and realising that there really was a lot out there that I didn’t know.

Obviously, it wouldn’t make sense to list down everything I learned in my three months at Postive X – startups are expected to be lean right? So here are 3 of the biggest lessons I learned as an intern.

It’s about the team

We’re often told that being competitive is the way to go to succeed in life. But life isn’t just about being the best, it’s also about creating value. Working with other people is the best way to create that value. Interning in a startup made me realise that collaborating can create amazing results that will amaze you. But it can be tough to work together, especially when you’ve been told all your life that the winning team are the only ones who matter.

They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it certainly wasn’t built by one person! Organising events, and brainstorming for ideas made me appreciate the value every individual can bring to the team. Nurturing that cooperative and collaborative relationship between individuals is key to sustaining a healthy, productive working environment.

Expectations, expectations, and expectations

Working life is all about managing expectations. While we’re used to meeting a list of prerequisites in order to excel in our classes,that’snot the case when you start working. One main difference between both is the kinds of expectations at stake.

In school, I studied to meet the expectations of my parents, friends, and teachers. Every effort I put in, and every mark I earned was made for their expectations of my own performance. However, my internship showed me how a change in perspective was needed. When you work for a company, every effort you make, no matter how small or big, could determine an entire project’s success or failure. Unlike school, you not only have to meet your own expectations but have to take into account the collective expectations of your colleagues and workplace as well.

But most important of all these lessons…

The only failure in making mistakes is not learning from them

The fact of the matter is that you’re bound to fail a lot when you first enter the workforce. Your knowledge and abilities are constantly challenged and under pressure, especially if you’re working in a startup that’s relatively new! You’re bound to realise that a new job or a new business can pose intense learning curves, and throw lots of obstructions in your way to success.

But the beauty of it is that you don’t have to be afraid of you’re failure. In my 3 months as an intern, I learned from my mentors at Positive X it didn’t matter how many times I failed but how many times I learned from failing. Everyone has to start learning from somewhere – true failure only occurs when you don’t stand back up at the first bump.

So don’t be scared of making mistakes, embrace them as opportunities to get better at handling the same problem next time instead!

Learning on the job is an entirely different world to learning from books. But be brave and enthusiastic about the challenges you encounter, and you’ll soon find yourself growing into a powerful team player.

Positive X is a people development firm that equips talents with design, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking and skills. You can know more about us at http://www.positivex.asia.

Yong Vin Kit is a 2018 Positive X Intern, who is involved in market research, and organises workshops and training regimens for Positive X’s Design Thinking programmes. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance with Honours from Sunway University. Check out his LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/yongvk/.

Want to know more about internship opportunities at Positive X? Send us your resume now at info@positivex.asia to find out more!